First i would blueprint pump, then put 6 clutches in reverse servo, steel high gear hub, take slack out front to back, the stock input shaft will stand quite a bit of power and assuming you are not transbraking it I would not worry.
I have ran Glides setup like this w/trans brakes @2600 lbs and ET"S in the low 6.50's also @1800 lbs @ 5.60's

Ok, so I have a aluminum case powerglide. 1.76 ratio, 28" long with a fine spline output shaft. I believe it's for a V8 car, the bell housing is solid and it does have transmission cooler line fittings.
Since I'm new to powerglides I need to know what upgrades I'm looking at to hold about 500hp. I've read and looked at everything avaliable, but do I really need all that?
I was thinking a good rebuild with upgraded clutches and clutch drum should do it? Is the input shaft something to look at too? Front pump?
The car is going to be used for bracket racing and very occasional street driving. It's got a th350 in it now with a manual valve body. I do also plan to run the powerglide with a full manual body. Any recommendations? Thanks

 

Your plan and Dgcantrellsr's plans are solid. The aftermarket input shaft would really make it bullet proof for your application, with the added benefit that if you were to use a turbo spline shaft you would be able to use the converter out of your current TH-350 if you wanted to. TH spline converters are more numerous in the used market also.

 

First, get a copy of Carl Munroes book, "Powerglide Transmission Handbook", by HP Books; on E-Bay for 13-16 dollars if you look around (am I starting to sound like a broken record here?). If your TH350 converter is good, and has enough stall for your combo, then get one of the conversion input shafts to reuse your converter. Otherwise, a stock input shaft will work if your car is not too heavy. Use at least 5 lined plates in the direct clutch pack, and at least 5 in the reverse clutch pack. Toss out the wavy "discs/plates/cushion springs". Depending on what the trans was in, you may have the correct thin apply pistons, otherwise have them cut down, or swap for the correct ones. Use a steel direct hub. Use a TransGo shift kit; it has the "spacer" to convert the valve body to full manual. A good stock low band is fine in most cases; there's a lot of hype about the others available now. That's it for a foot braked Glide, upgrade to the better parts IF your combo breaks any. That's what I do, and have had pretty good results, and I'm NOT a trans builder by trade.

 

So, a good rebuild with 5 or 6 plates in the clutch packs. A steel high gear hub and I should be good. I'm going to use a TCI front pump and th350 input shaft while I'm at it.
As far as the valve body goes... The Transgo PG-2S will do? That's not bad at all. Summit has the " Powerglide Transmission Handbook " too.
Are powerglides that bad to rebuild? I plan to research and learn all I can about the rebuild process. I might as well learn to do this myself in my own shop and get the tools I need. It's not like I'll never have transmission trouble again..... LOL And I don't let other people work on my car. :nono:

 

I use the TransGo shift kits in the transmissions I do, unless it's for a transbrake equipped Glide. For me, the most difficult part of rebuilding a Glide, is getting the speedometer drive gear off the tail shaft. I keep saying I'm going to make a tool for that, I've made the rest of the tools I use for Glides. That, and cleaning them. They seem to leak a lot, that gets turned into a baked on crud, especially in the area of the reverse clutch and planetary. They're not as easy to find as they once were, and I won't give more than 25 dollars for a core.

 

Well it's a 72 nova. Depending on fuel it weighs about 3100 lbs, so it's not that light. It has a summit th350 in it now with 3:73's in the rear. I lost the third gear clutches almost immediately with it and that was the same experience I had with the last th350. So I'm not impressed with them. Maybe I've just had some bad luck?

 

First mistake was buying the trans from Summit. It is usually better to have a local trans builder do your rebuild if you can't yourself. There is no inherent weakness in the 3rd gear(Direct clutch) of a TH-350, 2nd gear is usually the first to break under power, the intermediate sprag "blows up"(rolls over or breaks the sprag race).

Sounds like you have just had bad luck.

 

Well I do have one of each sitting here for rebuild. I got a good deal on the th350 from a local shop. Do you think the powerglide will hurt my times? I was worried about losing my 60 foots.

 

Well I do have one of each sitting here for rebuild. I got a good deal on the th350 from a local shop. Do you think the powerglide will hurt my times? I was worried about losing my 60 foots.

If you don't add more rear gear or have a lot of converter stall(5000 rpm) then yes the 60' will suffer compared to the TH-350.

What is yout current 60' time??

What is the current rear gear, and what stall are you figuring on with the Glide??

 

I'm getting 1.8 sec 60' now with 3.73's and a 3200 stall. I didn't get a chance to make many runs this year. I spent most of the summer building my engine, then to just have transmission problems. I'd like to have it all sorted out for next spring.

 

The glide with 3.73's will need a lot more stall than 3200, more like 4800+. If you had to stay with the 3200 stall, then 4.88+ gears would be needed.

At 3200 stall and 3.73's with the Glide, you might loose .005 on your 60' but get it back in the ET, the 1.8 isn't as good as it could be. More stall and more gear with either trans could get you into the 1.5 second range.

With a Glide you generally want a lot more stall speed compared to a 3 speed trans.

 

My all-steel '72 Nova weighs 3325 lbs. Iron headed SBC, TH-400, 10-bolt rear, manual steering and manual disc brakes, with aluminum wheels 15 x 8.5" and 15 x 3". I have done nothing to lighten it.

 

The glide will turn it into a snail.



if you are having trouble getting quality transmission work done (th350) in your local area I can recomend a few shops within driving distance that do very good work (Niagara). The master transmission techs that own these shops here, also race at your track.

That would help me out for sure if you don't mind. I have a few cores for rebuilding and I should be thinking about doing this soon. I have a few things to finish up before spring.

 

My all-steel '72 Nova weighs 3325 lbs. Iron headed SBC, TH-400, 10-bolt rear, manual steering and manual disc brakes, with aluminum wheels 15 x 8.5" and 15 x 3". I have done nothing to lighten it.

I'm sure I'm in that area then. My cars on a set of 15x7 and 15x8 draglites and I have aluminum heads, but power steering and a brake booster. It's just a street car, so I don't really want to do much to loose any real weight.